Pink layer cake with black bow ties

I was watching the film "Nanny McPhee" a while back and was so intrigued by the cakes in one of the scenes later in the movie. Luckily, I had my sketchbook in hand and sketched a cake inspired by that scene. Then I went and inked it so I had a clean and crisp ink line-art version. Once I had that done, I scanned it into the computer and used Photoshop to color it digitally.

This hi-resolution non-watermarked digital clip art file is available to download for FREE by clicking here. I've also made the drawing available without color (ink line only) so you can color it yourself if you wish (and that's FREE too!).

Yummy Faux Goodness

If you have not had the pleasure of being introduced to Brissonte', I highly recommend that you take the time to visit the Brissonte' blog and the Brissonte' Etsy store. I was originally drawn in by their decadently adorable faux felt desserts and have now found a number of favorites amidst their many lovely offerings.

And if you happen to live in the general vicinity of Lawrence, MA, you could also visit their retail shop and art studio in The Cotton Weaving Mill. Unfortunately, I am not on the right coast, so I will enjoy their online establishments. If any of you do go to visit their retail shop and studio, please drop me a note. If you take photos of your visit, I'd love to post them here.

Oh, I almost forgot, they also have a wonderful online inventory at the Brissonte' official website.

Everyday is a Holiday at Jenny's Bake Shop

I have to admit right off the bat that I've been a fan of Everyday is a Holiday for over a year now. So you can imagine how thrilled I am to be able to introduce them to all my pearly friends.

Jenny and Aaron are a couple with a passion for the wonderful illustrations of the past. In their own words:

"Our love of old fashioned bakeries, sweet shops, ice cream parlors, and vintage holiday & party decorations all come together in our newest collection! All of the imagery is based on our 100% original paintings and every piece is handmade by us!"

Their work is amazing! I'll let their art speak for itself. And I'll let Jenny and Aaron's descriptions do the talking as well...

Retro Baking Gal

"Needless to say...we are crazy for anything vintage kitchen. But our favorite thing of all is vintage recipe books. Many of them are nothing more than pamphlets, but the ones with imagery inside are to die for. Sometimes we'll come across illustrations like this Retro Gal and we think 'wouldn't it be amazing to have a painting like that?' And that's what we did here. We referenced a bunch of very old black and white photos and chose the ultimate vintage kitchen color palette...LOVE the pink stove!!"

Chocolate Triple Layer Cake

"This piece is the ultimate in Cottage Bakery! An old fashioned, chocolate frosted, 3 layer cake, on a backdrop of our signature hand painted sweet & chic floral print. The background color is the perfect shade of vintage pink. The delicate floral pattern is reminiscent of vintage aprons, ticking fabric, and wallpaper. We adore the British cottage look and this piece definitely channels that love. The combination of the chocolate frosted cake and super sweet vintage floral mini print will truly cheer up your cottage inspired kitchen, dining area, little girl's room, cafe, sweet shop, coffee house, bed and breakfast, etc."

Retro Sifter Christmas Ornament

Retro Stand-Mixer Christmas Ornament

"Our ornies are all 100% handmade from prints of our 100% original artwork. They're excellent quality... made from very study artist mat board... they feel totally substantial and they're sealed with a protective clear coat. The backs are covered in various colorful patterned papers and vintage ephemera such as recipe book clippings. They hang by a length of classic bakery twine and each and every one is adorned with super fine glitter highlights."

Okay, have I tempted you enough? Head on over to their Etsy store by clicking here and see what else they have in store.

Plum Blossom Spring

For half of the world, it's spring! And even if you don't live in the southern hemisphere, you can still love pink year-round. That's why I've made the above photographic art piece entitled "Plum Blossom Spring" available for free download to all my pearly readers. And if you know someone that loves pink and would love this, send them over here too! The more the merrier.

This piece is a digital art composition by me using my photography. These beautiful plum blossoms were on my tree last February and will be again in only a few months.

Click on the image above to go directly to the download site.

Bugga Bugs

If you're like me, every once in a while you get the desire to be super creative. That desire often fades when I realize I don't have the creativity to think up something creative to do! Or sometimes I'd just like to have a little project that I can pick up, work on, complete, and see it finished, thus satisfying that creative urge without requiring me to turn my life upside-down to make it.

That's why I love the idea behind Bugga Bugs. It's a place full of "heart-felt fun" and is chock full of all the ideas you need to be creative and feel really good about accomplishing something that looks harder than it really is.

"Each Bugga Bugs pattern comes complete with a Cover Page to help you stay organized, Sewing Tips and Tricks, Supply List, Pattern Instructions (including step by step color photographs) and Full Scale Pattern Pieces (no enlarging necessary). Patterns are e-mailed in PDF format."

Imagine making up this adorable "Bakery Sweets" set
for the special diva in your life (even if it's you!).
And EVERYTHING is made of felt!
Can you believe it?

Then make this adorable pink tea set to go along with it.
Look... the teapot really opens up!


And then make up some adorable gourmet felt cupcakes
that actually fit into a real muffin tin.

At the price of only $6.00 per pattern, you can't beat it! Some of you may even decide to make these as Christmas gifts. Head on over to Bugga Bugs to take a peek at the rest of the wonderful creativity-inspiring designs awaiting you.

Pink Paris Paperie

If you love toile and french design as much as I do, then you are going to LOVE what awaits you at Pink Paris Paperie. Designer, Paulette, is a former interior designer that focused her loves and passions into designing this delightful offering of beautiful paper products. Paulette thought of everything too. She writes:

"Watch for your order to arrive in a bright pink box , inside your paper product is packaged in lots of pink tissue and a pretty shimmering pink package, tied up with a coordinating satiny logo ribbon and the Pink Paris Paperie Seal. You'll be excited and pleased to receive your custom orders from Pink Paris. I can't wait for you to see them!"

Doesn't that sound so fun? It's like your birthday arrived in the mail!

Paulette currently has offerings at Pink Paris Paperie as well as her Zazzle storefront entitled Paulette Paris for Paper Nosh while her new site Paper Nosh is being designed and fully launched.

Here are some of my favorites in her treasure trove of wonderfulness. If you click on any of the images, you'll be redirected to the site containing more product details and where the product is available for purchase.

Crown Personalized Stationery Set with Chocolate and Lined Envelopes

Princess Chocolate and Pink Crown Card Set (with matching seals)

Royal Crown and Fleur de Lis Keds Shoe

Pink Romance Custom Monogram Notecards

There is so much more available at Pink Paris Paperie, Paulette Paris for Paper Nosh, and the newly designed and launched Paper Nosh. Please take the time to visit each of them and soak in the sheer elegance of the beautiful designs Paulette has created.

The Fakery Bakery

In my quest for calorie-free yummy goodness, I discovered the adorable creations at The Fakery Bakery. Paula at The Fakery Bakery makes good-enough-to-eat Felt Foods and also has a line of Sweet Treat Jewelry . About the new line of Sweet Treat Jewelry, Paula says:

"Not only can you play with our foods, now you can wear them too!!"

Even though I would have loved these when I was a little girl having Kool-Aid tea parties and learning to love the color pink, I think that I love them even more as an adult! Why? Because I can appreciate how truly beautiful they really are.

Princess Tea Party Dessert Set

Felt Birthday Cake

Pink Cupcake Necklace

Key Lime Pie Ring

Strawberry Cake Earrings with Swarovski Crystal Beads

Lilley Handcrafted Loveliness

Sugar cookies are so yummy and they are a weakness of mine. Imagine my sheer delight when I discovered wear-able sugar cookies that have no calories at Lilley Handcrafted Loveliness. There's lots of other almost-good-enough-to-eat creations too. Here is just a sampling of what's in store for you when you visit Lilley Handcrafted Loveliness. I highly recommend visiting the Lilley Handcrafted Loveliness blog as well.

Sugar Cookie Charm

Teatime Treats Notecard Set


Yummy Cupcake Brooch


Cupcake Buttons

Calling All Domestic Divas

So I got thinking the other day, "I wonder what pink telephones are available now other than pink cell phones?" So I did a quick search on Google and, lo and behold, up pops a hit for Target (one of my favorite places to find a bargain). So I headed over to their site to see what pink telephones they had. And I am tickled pink (pardon the pun) with what I found.

Let me assure you, I have NO affiliation with Target, and I'm not getting paid to feature these products or put up the links. I just thought they were too adorable not to share. Just click on any of the images to go to the Target site if you want more information or you want to send Santa there as a hint for Christmas.

First, the Crosley Pink Princess Phone. Doesn't it come in a lovely shade of pink? (This is my favorite shade of pink, by the way. I call it "ballet slipper pink".)

Then I found this to-die-for phone that I would LOVE to have--the Crosley 1950s Pink Pay Phone! It would look great in my kitchen (hint, hint to Hubby).


Although this phone is in a brighter pink than I prefer, it is still darling and would look great in a french style boudoir--the Crosley Kettle Classic Pink Desk Phone.
And finally, for the true over-the-top diva extraordinaire... the Southern Telecom Fur Phone with rhinestone-studded receiver! Does this say "Austin Powers" or what? Yeah, baby!

Fancy Pantz Designs for the Diva

I've recently discovered Fancy Pantz Designs and have got to share! Barbara Worhatch designs some wonderful pretties for women who are (in her words):

"...the Hostess with the Mostess, the Domestic Diva, the Queen of the Kitchen, or... lucky enough to Have it 'Maid'.

I have to say that just visiting the Fancy Pantz website is a treat for the eyes. I won't spoil the fun by telling you what she's got in the header... I'll just say that you've got to see it.

Take a look at some of my favorite designs that Barbara has showcased there...

If Zsa Zsa Did Dishes...!

Very Vogue

Kitschy Kitschy Ya Ya! Zebra

Wild Side Light Leopard Apron
And the Sassy Oven Mitt

Too bad the kitchen is Hubby's domain or I'd have a better excuse to ask Santa for some of these. Do you think I could get away with wearing the "Very Vogue" gloves out in the garden? Maybe if I offer to do the dishes more often, Hubby will relinquish some of his domain and Santa will be good to me this year.

Season Your Food with a Dash of Pink

Who knew that there was pink salt? I didn't! This has to be the best way to season your food if you're a domestic diva.

Himalania Pink Salt is a model of perfect granulometry. 100 natural, unrefined, and containing no additives, its precious purity has been preserved. Naturally rich in elements and minerals including calcium, magnesium potassium, copper and iron, this salt has strong nutritional and health properties. These components produce the incomparable speckled pink color. Speckled on raw or cooked food, it will sing to your taste buds. Himalania Pink Salt is a delight for the sense. Himalania Pink Salt comes from the foothills of the Himalayas where it was formed more than 200 million years ago. It is a remnant of the Mesozoic era. Comes in an elegant glass jar with stainless steel lid that will give a fancy look to your table or kitchen.

It also comes in course size...
And a 4 oz rock salt size...

And of course if you buy the coarse salt,
you'll need a pink salt mill to put it in!

Of course!

Stylish and Yummy Pin Toppers

Gigi Minor at Pinks & Needles creates gorgeous and playful pin toppers. What is a "pin topper", you ask?

Gigi says:

"...as far as I know I coined the phrase 'pin topper'... Remember the good ole' days when your Grandmother's thimble or spoon collection was so fun to look at? Well, I can see that same trend happening with these little babies! Some of you may be wondering 'What in the world is a pin topper?' It's basically a sewing pin but with a surprise on the top like a cupcake or mushroom, maybe even a piece of fruit! Think of it as a little bling for your pin cushion!"

The great thing that I can see about the pin toppers is that they're each a piece of art; so pretty; inexpensive (always a plus!); the good-enough-to-eat treats are calorie-free; and they're so small that they don't take up a lot of room! It's the best of all worlds.

The Maiden Voyage of "Dusting in Pearls"

I can't think of a better way to start out this blog than by featuring some cute and sassy rubber household gloves that make housework a little more colorful and lot more stylish. Chick Lingo has a great selection of gloves (one set even has a matching apron).